Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
GOSHEN - Wawasee and Goshen have had subpar years.
Goshen came into Friday night's contest with a 4-7 record. The Redskins' four wins had come in the last five games, however, including a win over Wawasee in the Goshen Holiday tournament.
Wawasee? The Warriors had yet to crack the win column, carrying an 0-10 record.
For three quarters Friday the Warriors didn't play like an 0-10 team.
Unfortunately for the Warriors, basketball is a four- quarter sport, and that fourth quarter is the one that killed Wawasee.
Leading 40-38, Goshen outscored Wawasee 24-11 in the fourth to win 64-49.
Wawasee came out shooting as senior center Andrew Warner scored his team's first four points. Then it was R.J. Nethaway's turn as he scored the Warriors' next four points.
Chris Lambert would inherit the hot hand, scoring Wawasee's next eight points to give his team a 16-15 advantage at the begining of the second quarter.
After a sluggish first quarter that included five turnovers, Goshen got off the snide and outscored the Warriors 16-9 during the rest of the second quarter.
The Redskins were able to jump ahead of Wawasee without the help of senior guard Phil Mikel. After hitting a jumper midway through the first quarter, Mikel, the player Warrior coach Jerry Davis called "probably the best one-on-one player in the area" would go scoreless for the rest of the first half.
The proverbial slack was picked up by the forward tandem of Josh Kurtz and Josh Keister, who scored 12 and eight points respectively.
The Redskins were boosted even more by Scott Defrees' three pointer that went in as time expired in the first half. Defrees put Goshen up 31-24 at halftime.
Wawasee seemed unphased by the last-second drama as it kickstarted the second half with a 12-6 run. The run and Goshen's renewed sloppy play left the Warriors down only a basket at 40-38 going into the final quarter.
That's when the meltdown began.
Both teams traded baskets and free throws. Goshen tried to inch away with a Mikel free throw and a Keister three-pointer.
Wawasee wouldn't relent as Jeremy High's jumper and two Lambert free throws left the Warriors down just four points with less then four minutes to go in the final quarter.
With 2:13 left in the contest, Mikel, who was kept silent the entire game, stuck a three-point dagger in the hearts of Warrior players and fans.
The ensuing Wawasee possesion saw the Warriors turn the ball over. Goshen took quick advantage as Keister nailed a three pointer of his own, pushing the Redskin lead to double digits.
From that point on it became a free-throw shooting contest for Goshen as the Redskins went 6 for 6 in the final two minutes to grab their first Northern Lakes Conference win. The Redskins are 1-2 in the NLC.
Wawasee, 0-11 overall and 0-3 in the NLC, is at Plymouth tonight.
GOSHEN 64
WAWASEE 49
Goshen (5-7) 15 16 9 24 - 64
Wawasee (0-11) 15 9 14 11 -Ê49
Goshen FG FT A S R Pts.
Mikel 2-10 3-4 1 0 0 8
Kurtz 5-6 4-4 1 0 3 14
Defrees 6-8 0-0 0 0 3 13
Hoogenboom 5-9 5-7 0 0 5 15
Latham 0-4 0-0 0 1 4 0
Keister 5-7 0-0 2 0 3 14
Kincaid 0-0 0-0 1 0 1 0
Totals 21-42 12-15 5 1 19 64
Wawasee FG FT A S R Pts.
Wilson 3-6 2-3 0 0 3 8
Lambert 5-7 2-2 1 0 1 14
High 2-8 2-2 3 2 2 6
Nethaway 4-8 0-0 0 0 3 9
Warner 3-7 2-4 2 0 4 8
Zolman 1-1 0-0 0 0 0 3
Adkins 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 0
Totals 18-38 8-11 5 2 13 49
Three-point goals -ÊWawasee 4-8 (Lambert 2-4, Nethaway 1-3, Zolman 1-1), Goshen 6-13 (Keister 4-5, Defrees 1-1, Mikel, 1-2, Latham 0-4). Turnovers - Goshen 13, Wawasee 15. Total fouls - Goshen 18, Wawasee 16. Fouled out - none.
Officials - N/A
JV: GOSHEN 47, WAWASEE 28
